by Terry Spear
Stryker thought so too. He didn't want to believe that the shooter had already killed Ava and was there, trying to get rid of a body, but then Nina showed up, as a potential witness. Especially if the situation was that the guy assumed Nina was searching for her sister and wouldn't give up the search. Stryker imagined Nina would come to the same conclusion, given the business she was in.
Already dressed, Nina rushed out of the guest room and he helped her into the coat. Then she tugged the gloves on her hands, and they headed out to the Jeep.
"You said you recognized the floor where she'd slept," Stryker said as he drove them to Anderson.
"Yes, and I smelled her scent there. I know she'd been sleeping there for some time. I saw her boot prints on the dusty floor where she'd been walking. Both of us have size seven shoes. The man would have bigger footprints. Come to think of it, he hadn't walked into the tavern. So he might not have found that she'd been there before he saw me."
"Okay, well we'll find her." At least Stryker prayed they would, before it was too late. At least now, they had confirmation that Ava had been in the area, and with an active shooter here, they knew for certain she, and Nina, were in serious trouble.
When they drove up the road to Anderson, they saw Dan's, Hal's, Jack's, and Chase's vehicles there already. Stryker parked his Jeep and she and he quickly got out of the vehicle. Again, Stryker wished she'd stayed behind, concerned that the shooter would watch for her return, thinking she’d come back to recover her clothes. But, with as many men as there were here who were looking for the shooter, Stryker figured he'd be long gone by now. Unless he was nearby somewhere watching them, if he’d killed Ava and still needed to dispose of the body, like a cat protecting his kill. Their big cat instincts were ever present, even when they weren’t wearing their cougar coat.
Stryker and Nina hurried through the snow to the town, following in the other men's footsteps. He smelled Leyton's scent too. He probably had hitched a ride with Dan.
Stryker saw the trap with the skunks in it, sitting on a mound of snow, and Nina headed straight for it.
He frowned, following after her. He wasn't letting her out of his sight. "What are you going to do? You're not releasing them out here are you when we're trying to find the shooter?" He could just imagine them all getting skunked.
"No. I'll take the cage and put it in your Jeep. Then we can let them out into the country wherever you released the others." She glanced at him, waiting for him to agree.
"Yeah, sure, we can do that." Not that he wanted to do that right this minute.
Stryker carried the trapped skunks and broom pole back to his Jeep while Nina had her gun out and was watching his back. He understood her concern for the critters, but he was more worried about the human equation right now. Once he'd secured the skunks in his Jeep, they made their way back to the ghost town. He was watching the cliffs to see if the shooter could be hiding up in the rocks. Or he could be hiding in the trees. Though Stryker figured if the guy was smart, he would have skedaddled out of there.
Chase waved to them, then went into the schoolhouse.
Stryker heard another vehicle arrive and he knew Dan would have mobilized everyone he could get ahold of to come out here to help with the manhunt. The shooter, whoever he was, might think he was after only a single she-cat, but he messed with the wrong town. All of them would be out for his blood when they learned an innocent cougar had been targeted by a rogue cougar for termination.
Then they saw Travis and Bridget coming from the road. Even though they weren't deputies with the sheriff's office, their jobs as agents for the CSF meant they would be just as concerned about trying to take the rogue cougar down.
Stryker wondered if anyone had checked the vacant house near the entrance to Anderson. But he couldn't call anyone on his cell. There was no reception out here. Satellite phones were going to be something the sheriff's department needed to purchase next. "Come on. I need to talk to one of the men and see if anyone has checked out the house on the road to Anderson."
"I saw it. It looked abandoned."
"The former owner was involved in the trafficking of ivory. They were hiding it in the silver mine in Anderson. Mrs. Blasdell was their lookout, warning them if anyone showed up to investigate the place."
"Oh, how awful. What happened? Wait, that has nothing to do with the bullet holes in the sides of some of the buildings, does it? I thought maybe hooligans were shooting at the old building, but from the angle of the rounds that had been fired, I assumed something even more sinister had occurred."
"Yeah, it was more sinister. Tracey got into a gunfight on New Year’s Eve out here and Hal ended up mating her because she always seemed to be in gunfights and he wanted to be there for her, backing her up."
Nina smiled.
"At least that’s what he said. Anyway, the cougars who were involved in it, died, and Mrs. Blasdell went to prison because she was human. So the house is vacant."
"So you think the shooter or my sister, even, could have been staying at the house."
"Definitely a possibility."
They walked into the schoolhouse and Chase was pulling clothes out of the teacher's desk drawers.
"Oh, thank God, they're still here." Nina rushed to get them. “Did he touch them? Wait, I haven’t smelled any strange male cougar’s scent in here.”
“We believe he’s wearing hunter’s concealment. He couldn’t cover his tracks though. He’s gone over the rocky cliff. Dan, Jack, and Hal went up into the cliffs after him. I came directly here, because I smelled your scent in the schoolhouse, then stronger around the desk, and found your clothes stuffed in the drawers.”
“Thanks, Chase. Why would he go over the cliffs?” Nina asked.
“We found another road in the woods beyond the cliffs before. We figure that he made tracks to get out of here and left in a vehicle beyond the cliffs. That’s what the rogue cougars did that we were after the last time.”
“When Tracey was in trouble here before,” Nina said.
“Yeah, I guess Stryker told you about it. She’d be here tonight if it weren’t for taking care of the little ones.”
“Totally understandable,” Nina said.
“Where did Dan need us to go?” Stryker asked.
“Your orders are to watch over Nina.”
“Then Stryker can go with me and we’ll follow them up the cliff,” Nina said.
“We haven’t checked out the rest of the town’s old buildings,” Chase said.
She sighed. “Okay, let’s do that first.” She turned to Stryker. “Can we put my clothes in your Jeep first? I don’t want to return here to find them gone.”
“Yeah, sure.” They’d get a workout tonight, forget having to run as cougars first thing in the morning. Stryker was hoping they’d get a bit of sleep first. No telling when they’d get in tonight now.
Travis and Bridget joined them in the schoolhouse. “Are you all right?” Bridget asked Nina and gave her a hug.
Nina looked a little startled that Bridget had warmed up to her so quickly, but gave her a hug back. “Yes, thank you. It was a shock though.”
“I bet. Where are we needed?” Bridget asked Stryker.
“Dan and Hal and the other guys are trying to locate the shooter on the ridge. We need to check out all the buildings.” Stryker didn’t want to mention he feared they might find Ava’s body in one of them, but they needed to be sure the shooter hadn’t killed her.
“What made you come here tonight?” Bridget asked Nina.
“I had the notion that I could release more skunks where no one lived, but it was a mistake.”
“Oh.” Bridget frowned. “Did you release them here? They’re sure to find one of the buildings to hide in.”
“No, we have the trap in Stryker’s Jeep.”
Travis said, “We’ll take it out in the country for you. Stryker needs to get you home and keep you safeguarded once we leave here.”
“Thanks, Travis. We appreciate
it. We’re taking her clothes back to the Jeep and then we’ll continue looking through the town,” Stryker said.
“Why don’t I go with you?” Travis said. “Chase, Bridget, and Nina can continue the search and we’ll join them.”
“Sure, we can do that.” Stryker didn’t want to leave Nina for a minute while she was here, but he knew she was in good hands, not to mention she was trained to take down criminals too. And he figured Travis wanted to talk to him in private about something. He gathered up her clothes after she tucked her socks, panties, and bra into her coat pockets so he wouldn’t lose any of the articles of clothing along the way.
Then he and Travis headed outside and took the road back to their vehicles.
“Leyton and Dan are already discussing who’s going to hire Nina,” Travis told him. “Leyton wants to because of her gift. I have to agree with him because she knew about Bridget being pregnant.”
“And Dan?”
“She knew his wife was pregnant too.”
"So it was confirmed?"
"Yep. Addie, of course, says Nina has to work with the sheriff’s department because she’s a deputy too, and her best friend. She was sorry she couldn’t be here tonight, but someone had to man the sheriff’s office. And then there’s you.”
“Me.”
“Yeah, Dan knows you wouldn’t have your mind on work if you knew she was running all over with the CSF, trying to take down rogues. You’d want her at home here, and that means working with you.”
“What if she doesn’t even want to stay here?”
“Well, hell, we’re all going to make it happen. You most of all.” Travis smiled at him. “Don’t tell me you’re not interested. Bridget said that Nina was the one who took pictures of you when you were Santa two years ago. And you kept wanting to see her.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t return the interest.”
“Oh, I’d say she did. Leyton told me about the shower scene. He knew his baby brother was in for real trouble then.”
Stryker chuckled, and unlocked his Jeep, then tucked Nina’s clothes in the back seat.
“While we’re here, we can transfer the skunk trap to my car,” Travis said.
Stryker was all for it. “No need to return the cage to the house after that. We have one more out there for now. That’s good enough.”
“What about your dogs? You’re going to stay with Nina at the Robinson’s house, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it. They could be protective, but they could also be in the line of fire, if this guy comes after Nina at her aunt and uncle’s home.”
“You know Leyton and Kate always have a home for them, but so does Hal and Tracey, since they have Sydney’s brother and the horse ranch is a perfect place for the dogs.”
“That’s true. I’ll ask my brother and Hal and see who wants to take care of them for a few days.”
They moved the skunks to Travis’s vehicle, then headed back to the town. “Did anyone check out Mrs. Blasdell’s house?” Travis asked.
“According to Chase, no. I figured after we check out the town, we can do that.”
“Do you think Ava’s dead?”
“I sure hope not. But it crossed my mind that the shooter was still here and getting ready to dispose of the body when Nina showed up,” Stryker said, which had his skin crawling with the realization Nina could have been dead herself if not for her quick thinking.
9
Nina suspected Travis wanted to discuss something privately with Stryker as they trudged off through the snow-filled town to the road where their vehicles were parked. She hoped Travis wasn’t upset with the havoc she’d been wreaking.
“Does your sister have your ability?” Bridget asked, as they went into the attic of the schoolhouse, but didn’t find anything up there but dust and cobwebs and more dust and cobwebs. In the meantime, Chase had gone into the cellar to look around.
“No, just me,” Nina said.
“How did she feel about it?”
They climbed down the ladder to the main floor, Bridget going first.
“My sister thought it was weird. She never wanted me to let any of our circle of friends know about it when we were growing up.”
“And when she was grown?” Bridget asked.
“Same thing. I don’t blame her, really. Not everyone is as openminded about it as all of you have been and I really appreciate it. I’m sorry that I let the cat out of the bag about your pregnancy in front of the other guys though.”
Bridget shook her head. “I was glad to know about it and everyone else would have known about it soon enough. Everyone’s happy for us, and we’re certainly thrilled. It was really amazing that you knew it was due to an electrical outage. When we calculated the days, you were absolutely right about the timing.”
“Thanks. I just get snippets of pictures, sometimes video clips of scenes and surroundings. In the window of the bakery, I saw the advertisement for the special going on that month, and I could see that the whole town was dark. In the window was also a notice that the store would be closed until the town had electricity again.”
“And you saw this before it happened?" Bridget asked.
"I had to have. I don’t see past events, only future. And this happened a couple of months before I came here. I don't know why I get certain visions, but not others that could help my life out a bit."
"I don't blame you. It's like with me. The truth is that I can read minds,” Bridget said, “so I totally understand where you’re coming from. And everyone knows about me in town, so I guess I sort of paved the way for anyone else who might have psychic abilities that ventured into our town.”
Nina was eyeing her speculatively. She knew Bridget had been trying to learn the truth from her, but she had no idea she had a psychic secret weapon!
“Yes, I came to speak to you to see if you were telling the truth,” Bridget said.
“So then you knew I was.” At least that would have worked in Nina's favor.
Bridget shook her head. “I mean, I assumed you were telling the truth from everything you said and your body language indicated the same thing, but as far as reading your mind? No can do. I can’t read Travis’s either, which is probably a good thing for him.”
Feeling some relief, Nina smiled. She didn't want anyone to be able to read her private thoughts, but she did think it was a cool psychic ability to have, when it was useful. She could imagine getting hurt feelings if others didn’t think highly of her, but smiled sweetly and pretended otherwise, and behind her back were saying what they truly felt.
“I can’t read Stryker’s mind either. He’s got some kind of paranormal ability with regard to ghosts,” Bridget added.
“Oh, ghosts! He told me about the séance he did with others here when he was a teen. What if Stryker can call on a ghost during a séance and he could learn what went on here. Maybe he could tell us something about the shooter, or about my sister.”
Bridget raised her brows. “Now that’s an idea. As soon as Travis and Stryker return, we can ask him.”
When they finished searching the schoolhouse, they walked across the street to the church. They checked the cellar and attic there too.
“Nothing in here,” Bridget said to Chase and Nina.
Then they heard the sound of footfalls approaching in the snow, but there were two of them, and Nina suspected it was Stryker and Travis, probably following their scent trail from the schoolhouse to the church. Even so, Nina, Bridget, and Chase pulled their guns.
“Nothing in here,” Bridget told Travis and Stryker as they walked inside the church, everyone lowering their guns. “Ready to check out the hotel?”
“You took longer than I thought you would. Did you find anything?” Nina asked Stryker as they left the church.
“No, we just got rid of the skunks. Travis took them off our hands so we could go straight home after this.”
“Oh, good.”
“Listen, I’m going to ask if someone can take c
are of my dogs for a few days. I’ll be staying with you at the Robinson’s house, if that’s all right with you.”
“What if I said no?” Nina asked, though she wouldn't. Not after someone was shooting at her. She never was opposed to having backup. She did hope it was okay with her aunt and uncle if Stryker was staying there without their permission.
“Then I’d have to convince you otherwise,” Stryker said, half smiling, half serious, and she knew he meant what he said.
She chuckled. “I’m fine with you staying with me. I’m sure the couch is perfectly comfortable for sleeping. You’re worried about the dogs staying with us?”
“Yeah, in case there’s a shootout. I’d hate for that to happen at your aunt and uncle’s house, but I understand why you want to stay there in case your sister shows up.”
“Yeah, just in case. I’d hate to think she was there and a shooter came after her there and she had no protection. I was talking to Bridget about you doing a séance. Maybe if any ghosts are around and they saw anything, they could tell us about it.”
Stryker looked skeptical.
“Okay, so what really happened the last time?” she asked Stryker, as Chase, Travis, and Bridget were looking around the hotel. Nina realized she probably should have asked Stryker when they were alone.
Travis was looking around the check-in counter while Bridget headed for the room behind the check-in counter.
“Chase, Hal, Dan, and I were bored over summer break. Chase’s grandfather’s construction business was slow, and it was pouring rain on top of that. We piled into a station wagon and drove here just to explore the old town and pretend we were part of the old west. We’d brought the prerequisite ice chest full of beers, hot dogs to cook over a wood-burning stove in the kitchen of the saloon, chips, and the rest. We all had jobs, but we were off that day and just needed to get away.” Stryker took Nina’s hand and headed up the stairs to the first floor of rooms.
“We’d been cutting it up in the old schoolhouse, and Chase volunteered to be the teacher. The rest of us were having a blast arguing with him about his teachings that day. Can’t remember what he was ‘teaching,’ but whatever it was, we didn’t agree. We were a rowdy bunch of teens.”
